Gas injection moulding method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A gas injection moulding method comprising injecting a melt into a mould and injecting gas into the melt to form a gas cavity in the melt wherein the melt is cooled by use of injection gas cooled to below the external ambient air temperature and/or by a continuous flow of injection gas through the mould.

This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for gasinjection moulding.

In conventional gas assisted or gas injection moulding methods, meltmaterial is first injected into a mould. The melt, which may be apolymer or other suitable material, is then forced against the interiorof the mould using injected gas within the melt. The melt and mould arethen allowed to cool so that the melt hardens forming the injectedmoulding product this cooling stage being by far the longest part of theinjection moulding cycle. Minimisation of this cooling stage isextremely important, as it hag a major influence on tile reduction ofthe overall injection moulding time. This also has capital benefits inreducing manufacturing costs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved methodof, and apparatus for, gas injection moulding.

According to one aspect of the invention there is a method of gasinjection moulding comprising injecting a melt into a mould andinjecting gas into the melt to form a gas cavity in the melt, whereinthe injection gas is cooled preferably to below the external ambient airtemperature before being injected into the melt.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is a gas injectionmoulding method comprising injecting a melt into a mould and injectinggas into the melt to form a gas cavity in the melt utilising injectiongas having a temperature lower than that of ambient air temperature.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is a gas injectionmoulding method using a mould having a melt inlet aperture, gas inletaperture and gas outlet aperture, comprising the following stages:

-   (a) injecting a melt into the mould;-   (b) injecting gas from the inlet aperture in the mould into the melt    to form a gas cavity within the melt,-   (c) forming a gas channel between the gas cavity and the gas outlet    aperture in the mould and-   (d) providing gas flow through the cavity between the gas inlet and    outlet apertures.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a gasinjection moulding method wherein a mould is provided comprising gasinlet and gas outlet apertures and the method includes the step offlowing the injection gas between the gas inlet and outlet apertures inuse.

Preferably, the injection gas is nitrogen. The temperature of theinjected gas may be in the range 0° C. to −176° C., preferably in therange −10° C. to −50° C., and most preferably about −25° C. The pressureof the gas in the mould can be in the range 10 to 350 bar.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is providedapparatus for gas injection moulding comprising a mould having inletapertures for the ingress of gas and melt material into the mould,wherein, melt material is injected into the mould and gas is injectedinto the melt material to form a gas cavity in the melt, and wherein gashaving a temperature lower than the ambient air temperature is used asthe injection gas.

According to a yet further aspect of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for gas injection moulding comprising a mould having inletapertures for the ingress of gas melt material into the mould, andoutlet apertures for the egress of gas and melt from the mould, andwherein use of the apparatus comprises the following stages:

-   (a) injecting a melt into the mould;-   (b) injecting gas from an inlet aperture in the mould into the melt    to form a gas cavity within the melt,-   (c) forming a gas channel between the gas cavity and a gas outlet    aperture in the mould and-   (d) providing gas flow through the cavity between the gas inlet and    outlet apertures.

Preferably, the channel between the gas cavity and the outlet apertureis formed by forcing a stream of gas from the outlet aperture toward thecavity. The channel between the gas cavity and the outlet aperture maybe formed by perforating the melt using a moveable needle at the outletaperture.

The gas injection moulding apparatus may comprise a heat exchanger tocool the injection gas prior to injection into the mould. This heatexchanger may j comprise a coiled section of piping, through whichinjection gas flows, and this coiled portion of piping may be immersedin a liquid having a lower temperature than that of the gas, so coolingthe gas. The cooling liquid could be, for example, liquid nitrogen.

The injection gas may be at a lower temperature than the ambient airtemperature and/or may be nitrogen. As before, the temperature of theinjection gas may be in the range 0° C. to −176° C., preferably in therange −10° C. to −50° C., and more preferably around −25° C.

The gas may enter or exit the mould by means of injection needles. Afurther aspect of the invention is a gas injection needle comprising afirst part defining a gas channel and a movable member that can extendbeyond the first part thereby to extend the gas channel. Preferably, themoveable member is located coaxially within the gas channel, and themoveable member preferably is elongate and movable axially within thegas channel. Most preferably, the movable member is displaced to extendbeyond the end of the gas channel.

Another aspect of the invention is a gas injection/exhaust needle foruse in injection moulding comprising a gas channel and a shutoff membermoveable by activating means from a closed position to an open positionin which open position the shutoff member is retracted into the body ofthe needle. Preferably, the shutoff member is located co-axially withinthe gas channel and is elongate and moveable axially within the gaschannel. Preferably the activating means comprises a rod and pistonactivated pneumatically or hydraulically. Most preferably, the shutoffmember is moveable to the open position by the action injection gaspressure on a first face of the piston and/or the shutoff member ismoveable to the closed position by the application of pneumatic pressureon a second face of the piston. Preferably, the injection gas exits orenters the gas channel through an aperture at the open end of thechannel. The injection gas may exit or enter the gas channel through atleast one aperture located in the wall of the channel. The injection gasmay exit or enter the gas channel radially and the end of the channelmay be sealed. The injection gas may exits or enter the gas channel atan angle to the axis of the channel.

Gas injection moulding apparatus in accordance with the invention willnow be described, by way of example only, with reference to thefollowing schematic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas injection moulding system for usein accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 2(a) and (b) show two method stages of gas injection moulding inaccordance with one aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 3(a), (b) and (c) show three method stages of gas injectionmoulding in accordance with another aspect of the invention;

FIGS. 4(a), (b), and (c) presents a flow diagram summarising alternativeprocess stages of gas injection moulding methods in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a first gas injection needle assembly usedin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6, (a) and (b) schematically show two operational states of the endof the gas injection needle shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective, partly cut away view of a second gas injectionneedle used in a further aspect of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective, partly cut away view of part of the gasinjection needle shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the part of the gas injection needle shown inFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective, partly cut away view of a needle sleeve foruse with the second gas injection needle and;

FIGS. 11(a) and (b) show another needle sleeve for use with the secondgas injection needle.

Referring to FIG. 1, a gas injection moulding system 1 comprises gasinjection moulding apparatus 10 and associated process controlequipment. Moulding apparatus 10 comprises a mould 12, which may be atwo part type mould or any other type known in the art, that defines amould cavity 14. Melt material 16 is injected into the mould cavity 14from a melt reservoir 18, and via a melt inlet aperture 20. A gas inletaperture 22, which may comprise an injection needle 24, allows injectionof gas 26 into the melt 16. A corresponding gas outlet 28 which cancomprise needle 30 may also be provided, as well as an outlet 32 for themelt.

Associated process control equipment is provided to control the ingressand egress of gas and melt to and from the mould cavity 14. Injectiongas, for example nitrogen, is supplied by gas injection equipment 34comprising a gas generation unit 36 and gas pressure control module 38,the pressure control module 38 being controlled by a set point inputhandle 40. In one aspect of the invention, the injection gas line maycomprise a heat exchanger 42 to cool the gas prior to its injection intothe mould cavity 14 and the heat exchanger may comprise a coil 44immersed in a cooling material such as liquid nitrogen. In a furtheraspect of the invention the gas injection needles 24 and/or 30 may bemovable (as described later) and in this case are actuated by, forexample, an actuator 46 controlled by a controller 48 as shown forneedle 24. A controller 48 may also be used to control other aspectssuch as the gas injection equipment 34 and the heat exchanger 44, aswell as various process valves shown at a, b and c for example. It maybe possible to recycle the injected gas once it has passed through themould as shown by a process stage d. However, this may not be anadvantage as the injection gas is readily available and re-circulationof the gas can cause contamination in the gas stream by the meltmaterial.

Referring to FIG. 2, parts a and b, there are shown two steps in a gasinjection moulding method according to a first aspect of the invention.In FIG. 2 a, a first stage of the moulding process is shown wherein amelt material 16 is injected into cavity 14 in mould 12 via aperture 20from a melt reservoir 18. (For simplicity in this case the processvalves are not shown). FIG. 2 b shows the later gas injection stage ofthe method where gas such as nitrogen is injected through aperture 22 toform a gas cavity 26 inside the melt material. Once the gas cavity hasdispersed the melt into all corners of the mould the pressure is held ata pre-set level until the melt cools and hardens. In one aspect of thepresent invention, the injected gas 26 is cooled to below the ambientair temperature outside the mould prior to being injected into themould, for example by means of heat exchanger coil 44. Before injectioninto mould 12, the gas is preferably cooled to between 0° C. and −176°C. Within this range a preferable temperature for the gas is about −25°C. Once the melt is sufficiently dispersed, the cooled gas is held at astatic pressure thermal energy passes from the hot melt into the cooledgas, thereby providing a greater temperature gradient than if gas atambient temperature were used, and so speeding up the cooling process.Low temperature gas is typically injected into the melt stream and thenvented to atmosphere near or at the end of the cooling cycle.

In another embodiment low temperature gas is injected into the meltstream and that gas is then expanded stepwise during the cooling cycle,cooling of the injected gas thereby resulting from the well knownJoule-Thompson effect. Thus, the injected gas may be vented instage-wise to successively lower pressure levels, for example from 170bar to 130 bar and then to 80 bar and finally to atmospheric pressure.Alternatively the injected gas may be expanded continuously from theinitial pressure of for example 170 bar to a lower pressure or toatmospheric pressure.

In yet another embodiment low temperature gas is injected into the meltand then during the cooling cycle partly vented, for example from 170bar to an intermediate pressure of, for example, 130 bar. Further gas isthen injected into the melt to restore the pressure of the gas in themelt to 170 bar. This process may be repeated several times, during acooling cycle, optionally venting the gas to a different intermediatepressure each time. Thus, each time gas is vented the above mentionedJoule-Thompson effect produces a decrease in injected gas temperature.

Reduction of injected gas temperature during the cooling cycle willincrease the temperature driving force for heat-transfer from the meltto the injected gas. This will normally result in an increased rate ofheat-transfer and thus an advantageous reduction in gas cooling cycletime.

Turning to FIG. 3, a gas injection moulding process according to afurther aspect of the invention is shown. Parts a and b of FIG. 3generally correspond to the equivalent parts to FIG. 2 but in this case,an additional process stage is shown at c. Between process stages b andc, a channel 31 (see FIG. 3 c) is formed that allows gas flow from thegas cavity 26 within the melt material 16 to a gas outlet 28, whichagain may be in the form of a needle 30. This allows circulation of theinjection gas through the cavity 26 formed between the inlet 22 and theoutlet 28 as shown by the direction arrows in FIG. 3 c. By circulatingthe gas, greater heat transfer between the hot melt and the circulatinggas is achieved and so the cooling time again is reduced. An evengreater reduction in cooling time is achieved if cooled gas is used asin the static process already described for FIGS. 2 a and b.

FIG. 4 summarises three aspects of the invention in a flow diagram. InFIG. 4 a the process stages of the static or ‘no-flow’ process forexample, using a single gas inlet, are shown. Low temperature gas suchas nitrogen is used but it is not circulated once it has entered themould and it is held at a static pressure. In this case heat exchangebetween the melt, the mould and the gas takes place by conductionbetween the melt and the mould as well as convection between the staticgas and the melt. Parts b and c of FIG. 4 show flow diagrams for a casewhere gas flows through the mould once the melt has been dispersed, i.e.as already shown schematically in FIG. 3 earlier. In both cases amultiple needle aperture or injection system is needed with apertures toallow gas to both enter and exit the gas cavity and circulate to removeheat from the melt.

In the process where gas circulates in and out of the mould, a method isneeded to form the channel 31 between the gas cavity and an outletaperture, for example between the gas cavity 26 and outlet aperture 28shown in FIG. 3. There are several ways of achieving this, according tothe gas bubble length and type of needle used.

If the gas bubble length is sufficient to reach the second needleposition (e.g. needle 30 in FIG. 3 c), then the (thin) layer of materialcovering this needle can be removed by the use of high pressure gasinjected through this needle (30). Alternatively, in the event of agreater thickness of material covering the second, or outlet needle, achannel can be formed by injecting a reverse flow of gas at this secondneedle, or a movable needle can be used, as described below.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a first gas injection nozzle assembly that can beused in the apparatus of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, aretractable or movable venting needle 50 is shown, comprising a needlebody 52 and a gas channel or needle sleeve 54. Channel 54 is connectedto body 52 via an annular attachment 56. A movable central needle memberor pin 58 is located co-axially within sleeve 54. In use, channel 54directs gas to or from the melt. Pin 58 has a groove 59 and a conicalend section 60. Pin 58 can move axially out or in channel or sleeve 54as shown by the double headed arrow. The body 52 of the needle devicemay have planar surfaces 62 to allow easy location within mouldingapparatus, and respective gas inlets and gas outlets shown at 64 a and64 b. Pressurised gas enters at inlet 64 a, forcing pin member 58outward and allowing gas flow from the needle. Body 52 may also comprisea notch 65, again to allow easy location of the body in a mould. Achamber or cavity 66 houses further components of the device. Thesecomponents are held in position by screws 70 that pass through apertures72 in a lid 74 of the device. The lid contains a seal 76 having screwholes 78, an o-ring seal 80, a plunger 82, a spring member, for examplea coil spring 84 and a limiting sleeve 86. The limiting sleeve 86 servesto control axial displacement of pin member 58 and pin member 58 isattached to plunger 82.

FIGS. 6 a and b show the function of the pin member 58 within channel 54in more detail. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the end 60 of member 58comprises a front planar surface 90 and a tapered conical surface 88.The tapered conical surface 88—allows easy location of end 60 againstchannel sleeve 54. FIG. 6 a shows the situation where pin 58 is locatedwithin channel 54, that is, the case where there is no gas flow and themelt material can build up over the end of needle. In FIG. 6 b a laterstage is shown where pin 58 has moved outward in the direction of arrowI and gas flow is allowed in direction of arrows II. The outwardmovement of the pin 58 causes its end 60 to rupture the melt layeraround it forming a channel between the outlet and the gas cavity in themelt. Thus, the movable needle shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be used forexample as needle 30 in FIG. 3 to form gas channel between the gascavity, or bubble within the melt and a gas outlet.

As described, the invention enables reduced cooling times in gasinjection moulding. This is achieved by the different aspects of theinvention, namely (a) the use of cooled injection gas that is heldstatically within the mould and/or (b) the use of circulating gas thatpasses through the mould to take heat away by convection. In this latteraspect of the invention (b), either cooled gas or gas at ambienttemperature may be used and the convective effect of the moving gasleads to greater heat transfer.

Experiments have been undertaken by the applicant to demonstrate theeffectiveness of the invention. Thus, cooling cycle times using variousembodiments of the invention have been measured. Table 1 shows typicalprocess conditions for these tests. Cavity melt temperature was recordedfor the conventional (statically held gas) process initially, and thenfor the statically held gas process using chilled gas and finally forthe circulating gas process without and with cooled gas. The materialejection temperature is considered to be 80° C. and the mouldedcomponent residual wall thickness at the temperature measurement pointwas 2.59 mm. TABLE 1 Process-Conditions; Used in Comparative Tests ofCooling Cycle Time Gas Gas Melt Mould Fill Delay Pressure Gas ProcessingTemperature Temp Time Time Time Pressure Parameter (° C.) (° C.) (sec)(sec) (sec) (bar) Value 240 40 1.9 0.8 30 80

It has been found that when pre-cooled injection gas is held staticallywithin the mould that cooling cycle time may be reduced from 51 seconds(ambient temperature injection gas) to 45 seconds (injection gas cooledto about −100° C.), thus achieving a reduction in cycle time ofapproximately 12%. In tests using circulating gas passing through themould a reduction in cycle to 42 seconds (ambient temperaturecirculating gas) and 40 seconds (cooled circulating gas) was observed.This represents a reduction in cycle time of approximately 17% and 23%respectively.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show a second gas injection/exhaust needle assemblythat can be used in the apparatus of the invention and can withstand thehigh pressure involved in the process (up to 350 bar). Referring to FIG.7, the gas injection needle has a main body 100 comprising a flangesection 104 and a co-axially extending cylindrical section 108. The body100 has a first gas inlet/exhaust port 106 that is supplied with highpressure gas (normally nitrogen). The cylindrical section 108 has on itsend face 110 an aperture 112 that connects with a co-axial threadedcircular bore 114 within the main body 100. This threaded bore 114extends inwardly through the remainder of the cylindrical section 108and also all of the flange section 104 of the main body 100. A needlesleeve or gas channel 116 (see also FIGS. 10-11) having a flange portion118 at its first end is located within bore 114, its second (open) endextending axially outward from the main body 100. The needle sleeve 116is held in place by a grub screw 120 having a central aperture 122 thatallows it to be screwed into the threaded bore 114 using a tool such asan Allen key, When the needle sleeve 116 is thus fixed in place aperture122 allows a shutoff pin (see latter) to pass therethrough.

FIG. 8 shows a double acting piston unit 130. An elongate shutoff pin132 is attached to a piston rod 134 connected to a piston 136. Thepiston 136 has an o-ring seal 138 and is housed within a cylinder 140.Pin 132 may be attached to piston rod 134 by means of a screw thread.The first end of the cylinder 140 is scaled in a gas tight manner withinthe longer bore 142 of a generally cylindrical plug 144. Plug 144 has asmaller bore 146 dimensioned to accept piston rod 134. The plug 144 alsohas an outer threaded section 148 that can be screwed into and connectedto a corresponding female thread 150 in flange 104 (See FIG. 7) in a gastight manner using, for example, a Dowty (TM) seal 152. The second endof cylinder 140 is scaled in a gas tight manner to end cap 154 which hasa co-axially positioned threaded bore 156 on its outer face 162.Threaded bore 156 is dimensioned to accept an inductive proximity sensor(not shown). The proximity sensor is used to indicate whether the gasinjection needle (i.e. piston assembly) is in the open or closedposition. High strength adhesive may be used to bond the cylinder 140 toplug 144 and end cap 154 so providing a gas tight seal. End cap 154 alsohas a second gas inlet port 159. This second gas inlet port 158 isduring part of the process supplied with low pressure (<10 bar)compressed air, which enters portion A of the cylinder 140 and exertspneumatic pressure on the outer face 164 of piston 136.

The needle described above by reference to FIGS. 7 to 10 can be used aseither an injection needle (see FIG. 3 item 24) or an exhaust needle(see FIG. 3 item 30). It is very compact and the pressure differentialacross the needle is minimized through retraction of shutoff pin 132during the gas injection and cooling phases. The body 100 is attached bypressure tight sealing means to a moulding tool (not shown) via threadedpins (not shown) that pass thiough holes 102 in flange section 104 ofthe needle. In use cylindrical section 108 of the main body 100 isinserted within an appropriately dimensioned port in the moulding tooland sealed in a gas tight manner, for example using an o-ring sealagainst end face 110 and around needle sleeve 116. The open end of theneedle sleeve 116 may be located flush with an internal wall of themould or it may extend within the mould.

When used as an injection needle, during the polymer injection phase alow pressure compressed air supply is pneumatically connected via thesecond gas inlet port 158 to side A of the cylinder 140 and this resultsin the piston 136, piston rod 134 and shutoff pin 132 moving axiallythrough the main body, so that pin 132 and rod 134 seal needle sleeve116. This prevents the melt, under pressure, from pushing the pinbackwards out of its shutoff position which would eventually lead toblockage of the needle sleeve bore 132. When the gas injection phasestarts, gas (typically nitrogen) under pressure is supplied through thefirst gas inlet/exhaust port 106 into the main body. The plug 144 hasseveral channels 160 that allow the high pressure gas to flow from port106 through bore 114 and plug 154 into the piston rod side P of cylinder140 and thereby to act upon the inner face of piston 136 pushing itbackwards together with piston rod 134 and shutoff pin 132. This allowsflow of injection gas from port 106, through bore 114 and along theinside of sleeve 116 to the melt cavity. This action occurs almostinstantaneously after the high pressure gas feed is initiated. At thesame time conventional process control means are used to isolate the lowpressure air supply to port 158 and to vent this port to the atmosphere.

When used as an exhaust needle, injection gas leaves the melt cavity viathe inside of sleeve 116, bore 114 and inlet/exhaust port 106. Theneedle is closed to this gas flow by connecting the low pressure airsupply to the second gas inlet port 158. At this time the pressure ofthe injection gas leaving the mould will normally be less than 5 bar,preferably about 1 bar.

The needle sleeve 118 may take one of several forms as illustrated inFIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 shows a needle sleeve 116 wherein gas enters orleaves in a generally axial direction.

FIG. 11 a shows a needle sleeve having an aperture 170 in its wall andFIG. 11 b a similar needle sleeve having an end stop 172 to preventaxial inlet/exhaust of gas, and thus ensure that all gas enters/exitsthe needle sleeve radially. By suitably inclining the bore of aperture170 the injection gas may be directed at any desired angle to the axis.The ability to choose this angle is useful in optimising the gasinjection moulding step. The needle sleeve shown in FIG. 11 allowsinjection gas to be delivered parallel to the polymer flow and this hasbeen found to improve bubble symmetry and minimise surface imperfections(for example, blisters and localised surface gloss differences). Aneedle sleeve may be simply replaced by removing the locking grub screw120 inside the cylindrical portion 108, thus allowing the sleeve to beslid out and replaced by one of different size or type. The locking grubscrew is then returned and tightened in order to lock the new sleeveinto place. The shutoff pin 132 may also have to be replaced in order tomatch any change in needle sleeve 116 dimensions. The shutoff pin 132can be simply changed by unscrewing it from the piston rod 134.

The control of the low pressure air supply to the port 158 is achievedby a 3/2 way spring loaded solenoid valve. An electronic timer controlsthe on/off status of the solenoid valve. The electronic timer startscounting when it is energised. During the energising period the solenoidvalve is open, supplying low pressure air through the port 162 andmoving the pin 132 into its shutoff position. When the desired time haselapsed the electronic timer is de-energised and consequently thesolenoid valve also so venting low pressure air to the atmosphere. Atthe same time high pressure gas (usually nitrogen) enters port 106 andresults in the piston assembly moving backwards so that the needle isswitched to an open position allowing high pressure gas to be injectedthrough the needle into the polymer melt stream.

1-30. (canceled)
 31. A gas injection moulding method comprisinginjecting a melt into a mould and injecting an injection gas into themelt to initially form a gas cavity in the melt, wherein the injectiongas is cooled to below the external ambient air temperature before beinginjected into the melt.
 32. A gas injection moulding method according toclaim 31, wherein the injection gas is nitrogen.
 33. A gas injectionmoulding method according to claim 31, wherein the temperature of theinjection gas is in the range of 0° C. to −176° C.
 34. A gas injectionmoulding method according to claim 31, wherein the temperature of theinjection gas is in the range −10° C. to −50° C.
 35. A gas injectionmoulding method according to claim 31, wherein the temperature of theinjection gas is about −25° C.
 36. A gas injection moulding methodaccording to claim 31, wherein the gas pressure in the mould is in therange 10 to 350 bar.
 37. A gas injection moulding method comprisinginjecting a melt into a mould and injecting an injection gas into themelt to initially form a gas cavity in the melt, utilising injection gashaving a temperature lower than that of ambient air temperature.
 38. Agas injection moulding method according to claim 37, wherein theinjection gas is nitrogen.
 39. A gas injection moulding method accordingto claim 37, wherein the temperature of the injection gas is in therange of 0° C. to −176° C.
 40. A gas injection moulding method accordingto claim 37, wherein the temperature of the injection gas is in therange −10° C. to −50° C.
 41. A gas injection moulding method accordingto claim 37, wherein the temperature of the injection gas is about −25°C.
 42. A gas injection moulding method according to claim 37, whereinthe gas pressure in the mould is in the range 10 to 350 bar.